The basic goal of an advertisement is to convince the person watching the advertisement something about a subject. For example, an advertisement may tout virtues of a specific product, e.g., our cars are better, our toilet paper is softer, our foods are tastier. The goal of this kind of advertisement is to convince a person to purchase or otherwise use the advertised product. For example, Acme brand of soda may advertise their brand soda; and a basic goal of doing this is to make more sales of Acme brand soda.
Conventional forms of advertising may include commercials played during breaks in television or other media.
People can walk away during commercials, or fast forward over the commercials when the shows are recorded with video recorders.
There are alternative forms of advertising which become part of the show itself. For example, during the show “American Idol:, there were frequently large glasses of Coca Cola™ soda on the desks in a prominent location. These alternative commercials are viewed as part of the show. This convinces by the power of suggestion.
Non-conventional advertising techniques are also used on the Internet.